Religion: My faith is the primary focus of my life, influencing each part of me. I have been forgiven, cleansed, and empowered by Jesus Christ. Without him, I am a very thoughtful, competent idiot. With him, I am all I need to be, all I could ever hope for. I oppose institutional religious stagnation, but getting together with others is a good idea. God is real. Jesus Christ is his Son, and the Bible is true. Faith is not human effort. It's human choice. I try to be the most listening, understanding, and generous person I can.

Wow. Natalie Smeltz is awesome. She's the marvelous second trumpet player in the Etown College concert band. Not just a musician, this Lutheran English major has a real caring heart. That's why I wasn't surprised to see who she invited to the college through S.W.E.E.T., the group that organizes many campus events.

Surprised? No. Delighted? You don't know the half of it. I couldn't stop squealing with pure insane joy for about a minute. See, I too can be a groupie.

Thanks Natalie! You made my day -- no, my month -- no, my year. Even meeting people at the WWW@10 Conference wasn't as exciting as spending time listening to and talking with people of such love and kindness.

The movie, if you didn't know, really got started from buzz generated by an incredibly awesome Sports Illustrated article by Gary Smith: Someone to Lean On. Go ahead, read it. It's one of the most well-organized pieces of nonfiction writing I've ever read.